CIA concludes Saudi Crown Prince behind Khashoggi murder: Report
Washington, Nov 17: The US Central Intelligence Agency has concluded Saudi's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing people close to the matter.
The US assessment directly contradicts the conclusions of a Saudi prosecutor one day prior, which exonerated the prince of involvement in the brutal murder.
According to the CIA findings, 15 Saudi agents flew on government aircraft to Istanbul and assassinated Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate, the Post said.
Queried by AFP, the CIA declined to comment.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, had gone to the consulate to obtain documents necessary to marry his Turkish fiancee.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly changed its official narrative of the October 2 murder, first denying any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts and later saying he was killed when an argument degenerated into a fistfight.
In the latest version presented by the Saudi prosecutor on Thursday, a 15-member squad was formed to bring Khashoggi back from Istanbul "by means of persuasion" -- but instead ended up killing the journalist and dismembering his body in a "rogue" operation.
The CIA scrubbed multiple intelligence sources, the Post said, among them a phone call between the prince's brother -- the Saudi ambassador to the United States -- and Khashoggi.
The ambassador reportedly told the late journalist that he would be safe to go to the consulate in Istanbul and get the papers he needed.
The US intelligence agency also said in determining the Crown Prince's role it considered him a "de facto ruler" in Saudi Arabia: "The accepted position is that there is no way this happened without him being aware or involved," the Post quoted an official as saying.
That official dubbed Prince Mohammed a "good technocrat" -- but also someone unpredictable who "goes from zero to 60, doesn't seem to understand that there are some things you can't do."
The CIA conclusions threaten to further fray relations between Washington and key ally Riyadh, which has sought to end discussion of Khashoggi's murder and rejected calls for an international investigation.
On Thursday the US Treasury slapped sanctions on 17 people, including close aides of Prince Mohammed, suggesting a coordinated effort between Riyadh and Washington to pre-empt the threat of harsher actions from an outraged US Congress.
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Dalit man beaten to death in MP over land dispute; sarpanch, kin booked
Shivpuri (MP) (PTI): A 30-year-old Dalit man was allegedly beaten to death by the sarpanch and seven others over a land dispute in a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district, an official said on Wednesday.
Narad Jatav was fatally attacked on Tuesday evening after he and his maternal uncle objected to a road created through their land to a hotel belonging to the sarpanch, Padam Dhakad, in Indergarh village, the official said. The accused, including Dhakad's sons and wife, are on the run.
Following the dispute over the road, Narad allegedly removed the water supply line from a common borewell to the hotel. Dhakad and his family then beat him with sticks and killed him, Kotwali police station in-charge Kripal Singh Rathore said.
Jatav’s family protested in the medical college where his body was taken for autopsy, demanding the registration of a first information report (FIR) against the accused, he said.
Later, police pacified them and registered a murder case against the sarpanch and his other family members, including his wife and sons, Rathore said.
The eight accused persons are absconding and efforts are being made to nab them, he added.
Condemning the murder, former chief minister Kamal Nath wrote on X, “A Dalit youth was beaten to death with sticks in Indergarh of Shivpuri. After this murder in broad daylight, it has been proved once again that Dalits are not safe in Madhya Pradesh,” he said.
There is not a single day when an incident of atrocity on Dalits does not occur in the state, said the Congress leader.
“Under the BJP rule, the audacity of bullies is increasing and it has become their habit to oppress the Dalits and tribals,” he wrote on the social media platform.
Nath also demanded special arrangements to ensure the safety of Dalits and tribals in MP.
